Mob leak trial loses 1 juror to flu

April 28, 2009

The jury in the trial of Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose will continue deliberating with 11 jurors after one panelist was excused this morning due to illness.

The female juror called the office of U.S. District Judge John Grady and said she had been hospitalized overnight with flu-like symptoms, Grady told attorneys and the other jurors. The juror told a courtroom deputy she would not be able to return to deliberations until at least Thursday, Grady said.

"I'm not going to assume this is flu of the kind the newspapers are filled with today," said Grady, referring to the swine flu making headlines in Chicago and around the world.

Ambrose is on trial for allegedly disclosing details about the cooperation of mob witness Nicholas Calabrese early in the Family Secrets investigation. The sensitive information ended up in the hands of the Chicago Outfit.

Though attorneys for Ambrose said they would like to see further inquiry into why the juror considered herself unable to continue, Grady ruled that deliberations could proceed with 11 jurors. The judge cited several previous criminal trials in which jurors were excused in the middle of deliberations for reasons ranging from depression to injuries suffered in car accidents.

But Grady warned the 11 remaining jurors, who were scheduled to begin their third full day of deliberations, that any more departures would disrupt the trial.

"The law bars fewer than 11 jurors from deliberating, so don't anybody else get sick," Grady told jurors as they left the courtroom.